JPH05223427A - Temperature control device of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control an amount of cooling air within a refrigerator chamber, to prevent temperature within the refrigerator chamber from being increased and to keep quality of food by a method wherein exciting temperatures for a compressor and a blower are corrected to be automatically decreased in response to a temperature difference between the detected temperature of the refrigerator chamber and the set temperature and the surrounding air temperature. CONSTITUTION:A temperature control device 53 for a refrigerator chamber is operated such that each of an R damper 52, a compressor motor 66 and a fan motor 67 is controlled by a control means 60 in response to each of inputting signals from a plurality of sensors 54 to 56 for sensing the temperature in a refrigerator chamber, means 57 for setting the temperature of the refrigerator chamber, means 58 for setting the temperature of the refrigerator chamber and a sensor 59 for sensing the surrounding air temperature. In this case, the control means 60 judges at first the temperature difference B between the set temperature RS in the refrigerator chamber and the sensed temperature A at the judging part 61. Then, a fuzzy deduction is carried out in response to the temperature difference B and the surrounding air temperature G, and a correction is performed at a correcting part 62 so as to reduce the set temperature FS at the refrigerator chamber. Subsequently, an exciting signal ON is outputted from the outputting part 63 in response to a correcting temperature NF.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a temperature control device for a refrigerator having a duct for a refrigerating room and a cool air control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-2408 prior to the present invention.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 4 discloses a cooling storage provided with a temperature control device that automatically sets an operating time of a baffle drive motor of a cold air control device provided in a cold air supply duct based on a temperature of a space to be cooled. In particular, the opening of the baffle is changed by changing the operating time to control the amount of cold air supplied to the cooled space. In recent refrigerators, an ice greenhouse, which has a narrow control temperature range and is maintained in the temperature range immediately before freezing of food, that is, the ice temperature range, is provided separately from a part of the refrigerating room or separately from the refrigerating room. Although the number of items is increasing, the cooling storage of this publication has a cool air control device such as a motor damper that controls the flow of cold air not only in the duct dedicated to the refrigerating room but also in the duct that guides cool air to this ice greenhouse. I am doing it.

[0003]

Since the temperature control device of the above publication sets the operating time of the motor based only on the temperature of the refrigerating room (or ice greenhouse), the amount of food input to the refrigerating room and It is not possible to control the temperature corresponding to changes in the ambient temperature of the refrigerator or refrigerator, and it is not possible to automatically control the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator according to the environment in which the refrigerator is installed and the usage of the user. It was

In particular, since recent refrigerators have a large capacity and a large volume in the refrigerating compartment, a temperature distribution is more likely to occur in the refrigerating compartment than in the conventional case, and the temperature rise due to the addition of food becomes remarkable, so that a more precise refrigerating compartment Temperature control is required. Further, in the temperature control device of the refrigerator, the one that mainly controls the operation of the compressor that supplies the refrigerant to the cooler and the blower that circulates the cool air cooled by the cooler to each storage room based on the temperature of the freezing room is the mainstream. Is. For this reason, even if the temperature of the refrigerating room becomes equal to or higher than the opening temperature of the refrigerating damper and the damper is opened, the compressor and blower do not operate unless the temperature of the freezing compartment is higher than the operation set temperature of the compressor and blower. There was a problem that the desired cold air could not be supplied to the chamber and the temperature of the refrigerating chamber was increased, so that the quality of the food product was likely to deteriorate.

Therefore, in the present invention, the operation set temperatures of the blower and the compressor for controlling the cold air circulation are automatically corrected on the basis of the temperature change of the refrigerating compartment and the outside air temperature to suppress the temperature rise of the refrigerating compartment. An object is to provide a temperature control device for a refrigerator.

[0006]

The present invention is directed to a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment defined in a refrigerator, a compressor for supplying a refrigerant to a cooler, and cold air cooled by the cooler to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment. And a duct for guiding the cool air to the refrigerating chamber, a cool air control device arranged in the duct for controlling the amount of cold air, and a temperature control device for controlling the operation of the cool air control device and the compressor and the blower. In the refrigerator provided with, the temperature control device, a refrigerating temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, a freezing temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the freezing compartment, a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, An external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the external air, and a control means for outputting signals for controlling the operations of the cold air control device and the compressor and the blower, the control means being set by the refrigeration temperature setting means. Cold storage A set temperature correction unit that corrects the freezing set temperature set by the freezing temperature setting means based on the difference between the constant temperature and the refrigerating room temperature detected by the refrigerating room temperature sensor and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor. And a temperature control device for a refrigerator provided with the cold air control device and a signal output part for outputting a start signal for starting the compressor and the blower based on the corrected temperature corrected by the set temperature correction part. is there.

[0007]

According to the difference between the refrigerating set temperature and the refrigerating room temperature and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor, the set temperature correction unit sets the freezing set temperature set by the freezing temperature setting means (specifically, compressor and (Starting temperature for starting the blower)
Is corrected so as to be automatically lowered, so that it functions as a cold air supply starting means based on a temperature rise in the refrigerating compartment and a temperature rise suppressing means for suppressing a temperature rise in the refrigerating compartment.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a household refrigerator, which is composed of a heat insulating box 2 having a front opening which constitutes the main body thereof, and doors 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 which close the opening. There is.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a horizontal partition wall which divides the inside of the heat insulating box 2 into upper and lower parts. In this embodiment, the upper part of the horizontal partition wall 11 is a freezing chamber 12 which is cooled to a freezing temperature, and the lower part is a temperature at which food is not frozen. The storage room is to be cooled. The storage chamber is further divided into upper and lower parts by a pre-partition member 13 and a partition plate 14, a refrigerating chamber 15 in which the upper part of the partition plate 14 is cooled to a temperature of about 3 ° C., and the lower part is a temperature zone of about 1 ° C. to 7 ° C. The temperature is set in the selection chamber 16.

The doors 3 and 4 are rotatable doors corresponding to the freezing compartment 12, and the door 4 is provided with a partition body 17 for partitioning the opening of the freezing compartment into left and right. The doors 5 and 6 are pivotable doors corresponding to the refrigerating compartment 15, and the door 6 is provided with a partition 18 for partitioning the opening of the refrigerating compartment into left and right.

The doors 7 and 8 are drawer-type doors corresponding to the bottle room and the vegetable room, which are partitioned by the vertical partition wall 30 into the left and right sides in the selection room 16, and both doors mainly store the bottle and the vegetable, respectively. Container 2 with a top opening
1, 22 are detachably provided.

At the back of the freezer compartment 12 is a cooler compartment formed by a cooler cover 31 and a heat insulating box 2. In this cooler compartment, a plate fin type evaporator (not shown) as a cooler and A blower (not shown) such as a sirocco fan is arranged. The cooler chamber communicates with the freezing chamber 12 at the outlets 32, 33, 34 formed in the cover 31, while
A duct (not shown) communicates with the refrigerator compartment 15 at the rear of the horizontal partition wall 11.

The freezer compartment 12 is divided into upper, middle and lower three stages by two shelves 35 and 36, and the lower stage is divided into right and left by a vertical partition plate 37. An automatic ice making machine 38 is arranged at the rear part on the left side of the middle stage, and this rear space is called an ice making chamber 39. The ice making chamber is covered with the ice making machine cover 40 and is partitioned from the front part on the left side of the middle stage. Furthermore, vertical partition plate 3
In the space on the left side of 7, a container for storing ice made by an automatic ice making machine is arranged so that it can be freely taken in and out.

In the space on the right side of the vertical partition plate 37, a container composed of a bottom plate, left and right side plates and a back plate is arranged so as to be able to be taken in and out with a space from the upper surface of the horizontal partition wall 11 serving as the bottom wall of the freezer compartment.
A quick freezing chamber 44 is formed that is cooled by the cold air blown out from the air outlet 34. The bottom plate of this container is made of a metal plate having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum. The cool air blown into the freezer compartment 12 returns to the lower part of the cooler compartment through the cool air return path 42 formed by the bottom plate of the container and the horizontal partition wall 11. Further, for convenience of the following description, the freezing chambers other than the quick freezing chamber 44 are referred to as the first freezing chamber 43.

In the first freezer compartment 43, two temperature sensors for detecting the temperature are provided, and one of the two is provided as a main freezer compartment temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of the air outlet 33. A temperature sensor 45 (hereinafter referred to as an F sensor), and the other of the two is a sub-temperature sensor 46 provided near the ice tray in the ice making chamber 39. In addition, the quick freezing chamber 44
Is provided with a quenching chamber temperature sensor 47 near the outlet 34, and a load temperature sensor 48 that comes into contact with the bottom surface of the bottom plate of the container.

Directly below the horizontal partition wall 11, the temperature control width is narrow and the temperature immediately before the food is frozen, that is, the ice temperature (eg -1).
An ice greenhouse 49 is formed which is maintained at a temperature of about ° C. The cooler chamber is also in communication with the ice greenhouse 49 via a duct by an opening formed in a duct (not shown). The amount of cold air to the ice greenhouse 49 is an ice greenhouse cold air control device (not shown) including an ice temperature damper provided in the middle of the duct.
Controlled by. The amount of cold air to the refrigerating compartment 15 is controlled by a refrigerating compartment cold air control device (hereinafter, simply referred to as R damper) 52 including a damper for refrigerating provided in the middle of the duct.

Explaining the structure of the R damper 52, the baffle 52B for opening and closing the opening formed in the duct, the motor 52C as a drive source for the baffle 52B, and the rotation of the motor 52C are closed → open →. A power conversion means (not shown) for converting into a one-cycle opening / closing operation of closing, and a signal (hereinafter, this signal is used to detect a position in a portion corresponding to the fully closed position of the baffle 52B in the one-cycle operation of the power conversion means). Position detection means (not shown) for outputting a signal), which is collectively indicated by 52 in the block circuit diagram of FIG. The operation of the R damper 52 is controlled based on a control signal from the refrigerating compartment temperature control device 53.

Next, the refrigerating compartment temperature control device 53 will be described with reference to the block circuit diagram of FIG.

The refrigerating compartment temperature control device 53 is a main temperature sensor 54 as a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment.
And sub-temperature sensors 55 and 56, and a refrigerating temperature setting means (hereinafter referred to as R temperature setting means) 57 for setting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment.
And a freezing temperature setting means (hereinafter referred to as F
58), an outside air temperature sensor 59 for detecting the outside air temperature, an R damper 52, a compressor motor 66 for driving the compressor, and a fan motor 67 for driving the fan. And a microcomputer as the means 60.

The signal referred to here is an opening signal (open signal) OP for opening the baffle 52B and the baffle 52.
A closing signal (closing signal) SH for closing B, and a stop signal SP for stopping the damper motor 52C,
The operation signal ST for operating the compressor motor 66 and the fan motor 67 and the end signal EN for ending the operation are collectively referred to as an open signal OP and a closed signal S below.
H and the operation signal ST are combined and represented by the start signal ON, and the stop signal SP and the end signal EN are combined and the stop signal OFF
Will be represented by. However, in the present invention, the fan motor 6
Since the one that can change the rotation speed is used as 7, the start signal is the signal when operating at the steady rotation speed.
And the signal when operating at high speed is the high-speed signal UP.
To distinguish.

The control means 55 has an R temperature setting means 57.
On the basis of the refrigerating set temperature RS set in step A and the refrigerating room temperature A detected by the main temperature sensor 54, an activation signal ON of the R damper 52 is output and the difference (A) between the refrigerating room temperature A and the refrigerating set temperature RS. The difference between the temperature difference B and the outside air temperature G detected by the outside air temperature sensor 59, and fuzzy inference is performed based on a value obtained by subtracting RS from RS. Refrigeration set temperature FS set at 58 (specifically, starting temperature FON for starting the compressor motor 66 and the fan motor 67)
And outputs a start signal ON for starting the R damper 52, the compressor motor 66, and the fan motor 67 based on the corrected temperature NF corrected by the set temperature correction unit 62. And a signal output section 63 that operates.

Based on the above configuration, the flow of operation of the refrigerating compartment temperature control device 53 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when the power is turned on, the freezing set temperature FS is input in step S1 and the freezing set temperature F is set.
A value obtained by adding 2.5 ° C. to S is taken as a starting temperature FON for starting the compressor motor 66 and the fan motor 67, and a value obtained by subtracting 2.5 ° C. from the refrigeration set temperature FS is used as the compressor motor 66 and the fan motor. It is taken as the stop temperature FOFF for stopping 67. Therefore, the temperature differential FDF when controlling the temperature of the freezer is initially 5 ° C.
Is set to. Then, in step S2, the set refrigeration temperature R
Enter S.

Next, at step S3, it is judged whether the temperature A detected by the main temperature sensor 54 (that is, the refrigerating compartment temperature) A is higher than the refrigerating set temperature RS.
The closing signal SH of the damper 52 is output and the process returns to step S3. If not high, the opening signal OP of the R damper 52 is output in step S5 and the process proceeds to step S6.

In this step S6, it is judged whether or not the temperature differential FDF is higher than 3 ° C. If it is not higher, the process returns to step S3, and if it is higher, the start signal ON for starting the compressor motor 66 is output in step S7. In step S8, a start signal ON for starting the fan motor 67 is output and the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S6, the temperature differential FD is
Whether or not F is higher than 3 ° C is determined in order to prevent the startup temperature FON from lowering to the freezing set temperature FS or lower due to automatic correction over several degrees, and the temperature differential is 3 ° C or lower. Then, the correction of the starting temperature FON is prohibited.

In step S9, the outside air temperature G is sampled, in step S10 the refrigerating chamber temperature A is sampled, the value obtained by subtracting the refrigerating set temperature RS from this A is taken in as the temperature difference B, and in step S11 this temperature difference B Fuzzy inference based on the ambient temperature G and the starting temperature FO
The lowering width C of N is determined, and in step S12 the starting temperature FO
The value obtained by subtracting this reduction width C from N is the new starting temperature FON.
(This is referred to as a correction temperature) and it returns to step S3.

Next, fuzzy inference in the set temperature correction unit 62 will be described.

First, the membership function with respect to the temperature difference B is normalized into five ways (same / slightly high / high / very high / highest) in the interval of the variable [0.0, 3.0],
The membership function for the outside air temperature G is set to the variable [0.
0,32.5] is normalized into three ways (low / medium / high). In addition, the membership function for the decrease C of the starting temperature as an output based on these inputs is (very small / small.
Normalize in 7 ways: small, medium, large, large, and very large. FIG. 5 shows the definition of the above fuzzy variables.

Table 1 shows the control rules (15 rules from 1 to 15) for determining the reduction width C of the starting temperature.
As shown in.

[0032]

[Table 1]

For example, when the temperature difference B is "extremely high" and the outside air temperature G is "medium", the reduction width C is determined to be "slightly large" based on the rule 9. When the temperature difference B is “moderately high” and the outside air temperature G is “high”, the reduction width C is determined to be “normal” based on the rule 2.

The process of fuzzy inference will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. However, MIN-M
The conclusion (that is, the reduction width C) is obtained by the AX method and the center of gravity method.

For example, the temperature difference B is 2.4 ° C. and the outside air temperature G is
When the temperature is 5.0 ° C., as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), two types of B, “very high, 0.875” and “highest, 0.12”, and G, are set. "Low, 0.68
75 "and" medium, 0.3125 "are obtained, and the results are combined and rule numbers 9, 10, 14,
There are 15 different rules in total. By using the MIN-MAX method and the center of gravity method for these four rules, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the decrease width C “0.6 ° C.” was inferred. At this time, assuming that the freezing set temperature FS is -18 ° C, the starting temperature FON is initially set to -15.5 ° C. Therefore, the value "-16.1 ° C" obtained by subtracting the reduction width 0.6 ° C determined here from the starting temperature -15.5 ° C is set as the new starting temperature (that is, the correction temperature) FON, and the compressor motor 66 and the fan. It controls the activation of the motor 67.

As another example, when the temperature difference B is 0.4 ° C. and the outside air temperature G is 30.0 ° C., as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, B is "same, 0. 375 and "somewhat high, 0.
625 ”and two as G,“ high, 0.6875 ”
And "middle, 0.3125" are obtained, and when the results are combined, a total of four rules with rule numbers 1, 2, 6, and 7 are created. M for these four rules
By the IN-MAX method and the center of gravity method, the lowering width C “0.4 ° C.” was inferred as shown in FIG. 7 (c). At this time, assuming that the freezing set temperature FS was -21 ° C, the starting temperature FON is initially set to -18.5 ° C. Therefore, the value "-18.9 ° C" obtained by subtracting the reduction width 0.4 ° C determined here from the starting temperature -18.5 ° C is set as the new starting temperature (that is, the correction temperature) FON, and the compressor motor 66 and the fan. It controls the activation of the motor 67.

The execution of such inference can be realized by using a general-purpose microcomputer or digital signal processor.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the set temperature correction unit compresses the temperature on the basis of the difference between the detected temperature of the refrigerating room (ie, the refrigerating room temperature) and the set temperature of the refrigerating room (ie, the refrigerating set temperature) and the outside air temperature. Since the start-up temperature for starting the fan and blower will be automatically lowered, the compressor and blower will start earlier than before. It is possible to control the amount of cold air in the refrigerating room in consideration of the situation. Therefore, the temperature rise in the refrigerating compartment due to door opening / closing operation or food feeding is suppressed, the product temperature is prevented from rising and the quality of the food is maintained, and stable temperature control of the refrigerating compartment can be performed, and Useless power consumption is eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing a refrigerating compartment temperature control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the refrigerator with the door open.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a door of the refrigerator is removed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the refrigerating compartment temperature control device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the definition of fuzzy variables.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a process of fuzzy inference.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example different from FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Refrigerator 15 Refrigerating Room 52 Cold Air Control Device (R Damper) 53 Refrigerating Room Temperature Controller 54 Refrigerating Room Temperature Sensor (Main Temperature Sensor) 57 Refrigerating Room Temperature Setting Means 58 Freezing Room Temperature Setting Means 59 Outside Air Temperature Sensor 60 Control Means 61 Discrimination Part 62 set temperature correction part 63 signal output part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber defined in a refrigerator, a compressor that supplies a refrigerant to a cooler, a blower that circulates the cool air cooled by the cooler to the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, and the cool air. In a refrigerator equipped with a duct for guiding the cold air to the refrigerating chamber, a cold air control device arranged in the duct for controlling the amount of cold air, and a temperature control device for controlling the operation of the cold air control device and the compressor and the blower, The control device includes a refrigerating temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, a freezing temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the freezing compartment, a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, and an outside air for detecting the temperature of the outside air. It has a temperature sensor and a control means for outputting a signal for controlling the operation of the cold air control device and the compressor and the blower, and the control means includes the refrigerating set temperature set by the refrigerating temperature setting means and the refrigerating chamber. Temperature And a set temperature correction unit for correcting the refrigerating set temperature set by the freezing temperature setting means based on the difference between the temperature of the refrigerating room detected by the sensor and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor, and this set temperature correction unit. A temperature control device for a refrigerator, comprising: the cold air control device, and a signal output unit that outputs a start signal for starting the compressor and the blower based on the corrected temperature corrected by the above.