JPH05240550A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability of the performance of the compressor at the initial stage following turning on of power and simplify the constitution of the means of releasing heat required in a refrigeration cycle. CONSTITUTION:Initially at the time of turning on power, a damper 12 is put in closure for a specified period of time DELTAT and put in its open position subsequently to an elapse of the time TAU. During the closure of the damper 12, the amount of heat exchange between the cooler 8 and the air inside the refrigerator decreases and the temperature of the cooler 8 accelerates. With the temperature of the cooler 8 lowered, the pressure at which the refrigerant vaporizes inside the cooler 8 declines so that the increase of the discharge pressure at the compressor 6 is decelerated and the time taken for the discharge pressure to reach its peak is lengthened. Accordingly the peak value of the discharge pressure becomes relatively lower and, as a result, the torque of the maximum load put on the compressor 6 initially when power is applied is lowered.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called fan-cool type refrigerator in which cool air from a cooler is supplied to the inside of a refrigerator according to the operation of a blower fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a refrigerator of this type compresses a vaporized refrigerant by driving a compressor and liquefies the compressed vaporized refrigerant through a heat radiating pipe (condenser pipe etc.) and then cools it. Is equipped with a refrigeration cycle configured to supply
By operating the blower fans at the same time, the air in the refrigerator is circulated while exchanging heat with the cooler. Further, a damper device is provided in the circulation path on the refrigerating compartment side of the storage compartment, and the damper device is controlled to open and close based on the detection of the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor.

[0003]

In recent years, refrigerators have tended to become larger in size due to changes in the user's lifestyle, and the load on the compressor (that is, the load torque applied to the compressor) also increases accordingly. It has become to. In particular, when the temperature of the atmosphere in which the refrigerator is installed is high, such as in the summer, the heat load of the cooler increases and the heat dissipation capacity of the heat dissipation pipe decreases, so the load on the compressor tends to increase. In this state, when the power is turned on when the refrigerator is initially installed or when the pull-down operation of the refrigeration cycle is performed due to power recovery after a long power failure, the load torque applied to the compressor becomes extremely large, and in some cases the compressor may not start up properly. As a result, the reliability of the operation of the compressor may be reduced.

Therefore, conventionally, assuming the maximum load torque state associated with the pull-down operation as described above, the heat dissipation capacity of the heat dissipation pipe is 20 to 30% of the value required during steady operation.
The reality is that it is set to be large. However, in this configuration, the heat dissipation pipe becomes large in size, which causes a new problem that the cost increases accordingly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the present invention is to reduce the maximum load torque applied to the compressor at the time of turning on the power source, thereby improving the operational reliability of the compressor, and Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having the effects of simplifying the structure of the heat radiating means necessary for the refrigeration cycle including the cooler and reducing costs.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator main body having first and second storage chambers, a cooler operated by a compressor, and the first and second storage chambers. A configuration including a blower fan that circulates air in the second storage chamber through a circulation path to exchange heat with the cooler, and a damper device that is provided to open and close the circulation path on the first storage chamber side. In the refrigerator, when the power is turned on, the compressor and the blower fan are driven, the damper device is closed, and a control means for opening the damper device after a predetermined time has elapsed is provided.

[0007]

When the compressor and the blower fan are driven when the power is turned on, the damper device closes the circulation path on the side of the first storage chamber, so the heat between the cooler and the air on the side of the first storage chamber is closed. The exchange is stopped, and the amount of heat exchange between the cooler and the air in the refrigerator can be suppressed to that extent, and the temperature lowering rate of the cooler becomes relatively fast. Then, the air on the first storage chamber side is also heat-exchanged with the cooler by opening the damper device when a predetermined time elapses after the power is turned on. Along with this, it becomes possible to delay the time when the discharge side pressure of the compressor reaches the peak state.

As described above, when the power is turned on, the temperature of the cooler relatively quickly drops, and the time until the pressure on the discharge side of the compressor reaches the peak state is extended, so that the temperature of the cooler is extended during the extended period. Is sufficiently reduced, and the degree of increase in the discharge side pressure of the compressor is suppressed to be low. For this reason, the peak value of the discharge side pressure of the compressor becomes relatively low, and the maximum load torque applied to the compressor is reduced.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 5, which shows the vertical cross-sectional structure of the refrigerator, the refrigerator body 1 includes a refrigerating chamber 2 as a first storage chamber,
It has a structure including two upper and lower freezer compartments 3 and 4 as a second storage compartment, a vegetable compartment 5, and an ice making compartment (not shown), and each compartment has a door (refrigerator compartment 2, freezer compartment 3, respectively). 4, the doors for the vegetable compartment 5 are provided with reference numerals 2a, 3a, 4a, and 5a, respectively, and a compressor 6 is provided on the lower rear portion thereof.

A cooler chamber 7 forming a part of a circulation path is formed at the rear surface of the freezing chambers 3 and 4 in the refrigerator body 1, and a cooler 8 and a blower fan are provided in the cooler chamber 7. 9, defrosting heater 10 and the like are installed.

Here, when the compressor 6 is driven, the compressed vaporized refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 is supplied to the cooler 8 after being liquefied through a heat radiating pipe, a capillary tube, etc. not shown. After being evaporated in the cooler 8, it is returned to the compressor 6, and the cooling operation of the cooler 8 is performed in this manner.

When the blower fan 9 is driven, the air in the cooler chamber 7 is directly supplied to the freezing chambers 3 and 4 and the ice making chamber (not shown) and then returned to the cooler chamber 7. In addition, the air is circulated such that the air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 5 through the duct 11 forming a part of the circulation path on the refrigerating compartment 2 side and then returned to the cooler compartment 7. Therefore, heat exchange is performed between the circulating air and the cooler 8. A motor-type damper device 12 that opens and closes the passage is installed in the duct 11.

FIG. 6 partially showing a schematic electric configuration of the refrigerator.
In, the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 13 generates a temperature detection signal according to the temperature inside the refrigerating compartment 2, and the freezing compartment temperature sensors 14a and 14b detect temperature according to the temperatures inside the freezing compartments 3 and 4, respectively. The temperature detection signals are given to the control circuit 15 as a control means. The defrost timer 16 generates a defrost signal for each predetermined defrost cycle and gives it to the control circuit 15. The door switch group 17 generates a door opening signal and gives it to the control circuit 15 when each of the doors 2a to 5a is opened.

The control circuit 15 is configured to include, for example, a microcomputer, and is configured to be supplied with power from a plug 18 connected to a commercial AC power supply via a DC power supply circuit 19. Then, the control circuit 15 controls the compressor 6, the blower fan 9, the defrosting heater 10 and the damper device 12 based on the input signals as described above and the control program stored in advance.
3 is configured to execute.

FIG. 1 shows only the part of the control contents of the control circuit 15 which is directly related to the gist of the present invention, which will be described below.

In FIG. 1, when the power source is turned on, that is, when the plug 18 is connected to the commercial AC power source,
The compressor 6 and the blower fan 9 are driven to start the operation of the cooler 8 and the blower fan 9 (step S
1), the damper device 12 is closed (step S
2) In this state, the process stands by until a predetermined time ΔT (for example, 45 minutes) elapses (step S3).

When the time ΔT has elapsed, the damper device 12 is switched to the open state (step S4), after which the routine proceeds to the normal control routine S5.

The normal control routine S5 is a well-known general routine, and controls the opening and closing of the damper device 12 based on the temperature detection signal from the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 13 to make a freezing compartment temperature sensor. The operation control of the compressor 6 and the blower fan 9 is performed based on the temperature detection signals from 14a and 14b, and the on / off control of the defrost heater 10 is performed based on the defrost signal from the defrost timer 16. Cage,
Further, when a door opening signal is input from the door switch group 17, the operation of the blower fan 9 is temporarily stopped.

The operation when such control is performed will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. 2 shows the compressor 6 after the power is turned on.
Shows the relationship between the operating time T (minutes) and the discharge side pressure Pd (Kg / cm ² ) of the compressor 6, and FIG. 3 shows the operating time T and the inlet side temperature Da (° C.) of the cooler 8. And the outlet side temperature Db (° C.), and FIG.
The relationship between the operating time T and the temperature R (° C.) of the refrigerating compartment 2 and the temperatures F (° C.) of the freezing compartments 3 and 4 is shown. However, in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the characteristics according to this embodiment are shown by solid lines, and the characteristics by the conventional configuration are shown by broken lines.

That is, when the compressor 6 and the blower fan 9 are driven when the power is turned on, the duct 11 which is the circulation path on the refrigerating compartment 2 side is driven by the damper device 12 for a predetermined time ΔT.
It is closed for only (45 minutes), and during that period, heat exchange between the cooler 8 and the air on the refrigerating compartment 2 side is stopped,
In other words, since only the freezer compartments 3 and 4 are cooled, the amount of heat exchange between the cooler 8 and the internal air can be suppressed to that extent. For this reason, the temperature decrease rate of the cooler 8 is the same as that of the conventional structure (from the beginning of power-on
This is faster than the configuration in which the damper device 12 is opened based on the detection signal of No. 3). After this, when the damper device 12 is opened after a predetermined time ΔT has passed, the duct 1
The heat exchange is also performed between the air on the refrigerating compartment 2 side and the cooler 8 through 1, so that the refrigerating compartment 2 side is also cooled.

Specifically, in the structure of this embodiment, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the outlet side temperature Db of the cooler 8 decreases relatively quickly to a state close to the inlet side temperature Da after the power is turned on. Come to do. On the other hand, in the conventional configuration, since the heat exchange between the cooler 8 and the air in the entire refrigerator is promoted from the beginning of power-on, as shown by the broken line in FIG. It will fall more slowly than in the case of the embodiment.

As a result, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the temperature of the cooler 8 is lowered by closing the damper device 12 at the beginning of the operation of the compressor 6 and the blower fan 9 in response to the power-on. State, that is, cooler 8
In this state, the evaporation pressure of the refrigerant is kept low, and during this period, the degree of increase in the discharge side pressure Pd of the compressor 6 is suppressed. At the time when the damper device 12 is opened after the elapse of the predetermined time ΔT, the temperature of the cooler 8 is sufficiently lowered, so the compressor 6
The discharge-side pressure Pd has a relatively low value and once rises to the maximum value and then settles to a value according to the temperature of the cooler 8.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the discharge side pressure Pd of the compressor 6 is a predetermined time ΔT after the power is turned on.
Shows the peak value Pd1 once until
The maximum peak value Pd2 is shown after the lapse of time ΔT, and thus the time to reach the maximum peak value Pd2 is delayed (the time to reach the maximum peak value is longer than that in the conventional configuration (shown by the broken line in FIG. 2). The maximum peak value Pd2 itself becomes lower than that of the conventional configuration after about 45 minutes in the case of the conventional configuration, and about 65 minutes later in the present embodiment.

In short, according to the structure of the present embodiment, the maximum load torque applied to the compressor 6 is reduced, which reduces the risk of starting failure of the compressor 6 and improves its operational reliability. Come to do. Further, as a result of the maximum load torque of the compressor 6 being reduced in this way, it is not necessary to increase the heat radiation capacity of the heat radiation pipe into which the compressed vaporized refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 flows, as in the conventional case, and the heat radiation pipe can be made compact. Can be realized and cost can be reduced.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a refrigerator body having first and second storage chambers, a cooler operated by a compressor, and first and second storage chambers are provided. Fan cooling type, which is provided with a blower fan that circulates the air through a circulation path to exchange heat with the cooler, and a damper device that is provided to open and close the circulation path on the first storage chamber side. In the refrigerator, when the power is turned on, the compressor and the blower fan are driven, the damper device is closed, and the damper device is opened after a lapse of a predetermined time, and the discharge side pressure of the compressor reaches the peak state. Since the timing is delayed, it is possible to reduce the maximum load torque applied to the compressor when the power is turned on, and improve the operational reliability of the compressor. Together capable of, an excellent effect of obtaining work to suppress the cost can be simplified the structure of the heat radiating means necessary refrigeration cycle including a compressor and a condenser.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing control contents according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Characteristic diagram of change in pressure on discharge side of compressor

FIG. 3 is a temperature change characteristic diagram of the cooler.

FIG. 4 is a temperature change characteristic diagram of a refrigerating room and a freezing room.

FIG. 5 is an overall vertical sectional view

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is a refrigerator main body, 2 is a refrigerating room (first storage room),
3, 4 are a freezing room (second storage room), 6 is a compressor,
7 is a cooler room (circulation path), 8 is a cooler, 9 is a blower fan, 11 is a duct (circulation path), 12 is a damper device, 15
Indicates a control circuit (control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator body having first and second storage chambers, a cooler operated by a compressor, and the cooler by circulating air in the first and second storage chambers through a circulation path. In a refrigerator configured to include a blower fan for exchanging heat with each other and a damper device provided to open and close the circulation path on the side of the first storage chamber, the compressor and the blower fan are driven when power is initially turned on. At the same time, the refrigerator is provided with a control means for closing the damper device and opening the damper device after a predetermined time has elapsed.