JPH09236369A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the cooling performance of a freezer chamber and a refrigerating chamber and enhance cooling efficiency. SOLUTION: There are provided a compressor 14 which constitutes a refrigerating cycle, a freezer chamber 2, and a cold air circulation means 9, 25 for a refrigeration chamber 3, and the open/closure operation of a freezer chamber blowoff port 6 interconnecting a cooler chamber 4 in which cold air is generated by the refrigeration cycle and the freezer chamber 2 or a refrigeration chamber blowoff port 7 interconnecting the cooler chamber 4 and the refrigeration chamber 3 is controlled by a cooling control means 18 which acts in association with a freezer chamber temperature sensing means 22 or a refrigeration chamber temperature sensing means 26 to circulate cold air to the freezer chamber 2 or the refrigeration chamber 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator,
The present invention relates to a technique for improving the cooling performance of a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment to enhance cooling efficiency.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional refrigerator, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-1 discloses a structure for increasing the cooling efficiency of a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59014 and will be described with reference to FIG.

Inside the refrigerator, a freezing room 1 is formed by a partition wall 101.
02 and refrigerating room 103. Freezer 1
An evaporator 104 and an electric fan 105 functioning as a cool air circulation means are installed in the inner part of 02, the evaporator 104 evaporates the refrigerant to cool the air, and the electric fan 105 cools the cooled air. 102
The inside of the freezer compartment 102 is cooled by circulating the inside. In the vicinity of the evaporator 104, a defrost heater means 106 for removing frost attached to the evaporator 104 and a defrost temperature sensor 107 for detecting a defrost state are attached.

Inside the freezer compartment 102 is a temperature detecting means 10
8 is installed, a freezer compartment door 109 is attached to the front surface, and its opening / closing operation is detected by a freezer compartment door switch 110. Inside the refrigerating room 103, there is a temperature detecting means 11
1 is installed, a refrigerating compartment door 112 is attached to the front surface, and its opening / closing operation is detected by a refrigerating compartment door switch 113. An electric damper 115 is installed in a cold air passage 114 that connects the freezer compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103, and the evaporator 104 is opened and closed by the electric damper 115.
The air cooled by flows into the freezer compartment 102,
Then, it is circulated to the refrigerator compartment 103 to cool the freezer compartment 102 and the refrigerator compartment 103 to a predetermined temperature. The refrigerator compartment 103
A compressor 116 that forms a refrigeration cycle is installed in the rear part of the rear, and the temperatures of the freezing compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103 are controlled by the control device 11 installed above the deep part of the freezing compartment 102.
Controlled by 7.

Next, the operation of controlling the temperatures of the freezing compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103 by the controller 117 will be described.

The operation of the compressor 116 causes the compressor 116 to operate.
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged further is condensed and liquefied by the condenser, and then decompressed by the decompression means, and then the evaporator 1
The air is cooled by evaporating by 04. The cooled air transfers heat to the freezing compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103 by the electric fan 105, and the refrigerant vaporized by the evaporator 104 is sucked into the compressor 116 to form a refrigeration cycle.

The temperature of the freezer compartment 102 is varied within a preset temperature range.
When the temperature of the freezer compartment 102 is in an insufficient cooling state above the upper limit of the set temperature, the controller 117 drives the compressor 116 and the electric fan 105 to start the cooling operation, and the temperature of the freezer compartment 102 becomes the lower limit of the set temperature. When the following supercooled state is reached, the control device 117 causes the compressor 116 and the electric fan 1 to operate.
The drive of No. 05 is stopped and the cooling operation is stopped. By repeating such an operation, the freezer compartment 102 is maintained within a predetermined temperature range.

Further, the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 103 is also fluctuated within a preset predetermined temperature range. However, when the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 103 is in an insufficient cooling state above the upper limit of the set temperature, control is performed. The device 117 drives the electric damper 115 and the electric fan 105 to start a cooling operation, and causes cool air to flow into the refrigerating chamber 103 through the cold air passage 114 to lower the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 103. On the other hand, when the temperature of the refrigerating room 103 becomes a supercooled state equal to or lower than the lower limit of the set temperature, the controller 117 stops driving the electric damper 115 and the electric fan 105 to stop the cooling operation. By repeating such an operation, the refrigerating compartment 103 is maintained within a predetermined temperature range.

When the cooling operation as described above is continued, water contained in the air circulating in the evaporator 104 adheres to the surface of the evaporator 104 as frost when heat is exchanged, and the frost adheres to the surface. When the frost formation phenomenon occurs, the ventilation resistance during the cooling operation increases and the wind speed decreases, and the air-side heat transfer coefficient of the evaporator 104 decreases due to the frost layer, and the evaporator 1
The heat exchange performance of No. 04 deteriorates, and good cooling operation cannot be performed.

Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of the above phenomenon, the defrosting operation is performed at a predetermined timing. In the defrosting operation, the compressor 116 is stopped and the defrost heater means 106 is energized. The heat generated by the defrosting heater means 106 melts the frost on the surface of the evaporator 104. Evaporator 10
When the frost on the surface of No. 4 melts, the defrost temperature sensor 107 detects a predetermined temperature (generally 10 to 20 ° C.) or more to detect the completion of defrost and energize the defrost heater means 106. Stop and return to normal refrigeration cycle.

[0011]

In the conventional refrigerator, when cooling the refrigerating compartment 103, depending on the temperature state of the freezing compartment 102, the compressor 116 is operated when the temperature of the freezing compartment 102 is equal to or higher than the lower limit of the predetermined temperature range. When operating, freezer 10
There is a case where the compressor 116 is stopped when the temperature of 2 is below the upper limit of the predetermined temperature range.

In the former case, the cooled air is distributed to the freezing compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103 according to the air volume distribution ratio, and the air having a relatively high temperature in the freezing compartment 102 and the refrigerating compartment 103 is sucked into the evaporator 104. Therefore, it is necessary to cool extra air for cooling the freezing chamber 102, and there is little refrigeration effect for cooling the refrigerating chamber 103, and the suction specific volume is small, and the cooling capacity is low. There was a problem.

In the latter case, the refrigerating chamber 10 is cooled.
Since the refrigerating chamber 103 is cooled by the air of No. 2, there is a problem that the cooling capacity is small, and further, the temperature rise of the freezing chamber 102 and the phenomenon of making the temperature nonuniform are likely to occur.

In any of the above cases, the cooling of the refrigerating compartment 103 is accompanied by the cooling of the freezing compartment 102. Therefore, for example, when the heat load of the refrigerating compartment 103 is increased, insufficient capacity is inevitable. There was also the problem that

When the freezer compartment door 109 is opened,
Although the electric fan 105 stops while the compressor 116 is operating, there is a problem in that it is not preferable in terms of energy saving, such as the amount of electric power of the compressor 116 and a loss in the transitional period when the electric fan 105 starts up.

On the other hand, when the cooling operation is continued, the evaporator 10
4, the frosting phenomenon in which frost adheres to 4 increases the ventilation resistance and decreases the wind speed, and the air side transmissibility of the evaporator 104 decreases due to the frost layer, and the heat exchange performance of the evaporator 104 decreases. Since sufficient cooling operation becomes impossible, it is necessary to defrost at a predetermined timing. However, although the heat exchange performance of the evaporator 104 is restored by defrosting, the defrosting may be performed in two to one days.
Since the evaporator 104 is operated only three times, the evaporator 104 is often operated in a frosted state, so that there is a problem that the heat exchange performance of the evaporator 104 is deteriorated as compared with the case of no frosted state. .

The defrosting operation is performed by the defrosting heater means 106.
Since the evaporator 104 is heated by the above, the temperature of the freezer compartment 102 rises due to the heating of the heater, and in addition, an additional cooling operation is required by the amount of heat loss due to heating of the heater, resulting in an increase in power consumption. There were also points.

Further, the defrost heater means 106 is usually installed in the lower portion of the evaporator 104 which has good defrost efficiency.
There are problems in making the cooler chamber compact and improving the volumetric efficiency determined by the effective inner volume / outer volume.

[0019]

In order to solve the above problems, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the cold air generated in the cooler chamber by the refrigerating cycle having the compressor and the evaporator is the cold air circulating means and the freezing chamber. It has a temperature detecting means and communicates with the cooler chamber via the freezer compartment outlet, a freezing room or a cold air circulating means and a refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means, and communicates with the cooler compartment via the refrigerating compartment outlet. To be circulated in at least one of the refrigerating compartments, and the cooling control means is made to respond by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means or the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means, and the compressor and the cold air circulating means are operated by the operation of the cooling control means. In addition, the opening / closing operation of the freezer outlet or the refrigerator outlet is controlled.

By doing so, the cooling performance of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment can be improved and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A refrigerator according to the present invention has a cool air circulating means and a freezing room temperature detecting means for cooling the cold air generated in a cooler room by a refrigeration cycle having a compressor and an evaporator. Flow that circulates to the freezer compartment communicating via the freezer compartment outlet or has a cool air circulating means and refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means, and circulates to the refrigerator compartment communicating with the cooler compartment and the refrigerating compartment outlet opening Flowing into at least one of the paths,
The opening / closing operation of the compressor and the cool air circulating means and the freezing compartment outlet or the refrigerating compartment outlet is controlled by the cooling control means responsive to the freezing compartment temperature detecting means or the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means.

When the compressor is stopped, the cooling control means closes the freezing compartment outlet for a predetermined time and the refrigerating compartment outlet for a predetermined time, and the refrigerating compartment cool air circulating means evaporates the air in the refrigerating compartment. It exchanges heat with the vessel.

Further, it has a freezing compartment door for opening / closing the freezing compartment and a freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the freezing compartment, and is in a cooling operation in which cold air is flowing into the freezing compartment and also in the freezing compartment. While the door is open, the freezing compartment outlet is closed and the refrigeration compartment outlet is opened by the cooling control means.

Further, it has a refrigerating compartment door for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment, and a freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the refrigerating compartment door, during the cooling operation in which cold air is flowing into the refrigerating compartment and at the same time. During opening of the door, the cooling control means closes the refrigerating compartment outlet and opens the freezing compartment outlet.

Further, a time for defrosting operation is provided every predetermined period, the compressor is stopped during the defrosting operation, and the freezing compartment outlet is closed for a prescribed time by the cooling control means and the refrigerating compartment outlet is provided. Is opened for a predetermined time, and the air in the refrigerating compartment and the evaporator are heat-exchanged by the cool air circulating means in the refrigerating compartment.

Further, it has a cooler chamber for generating cold air by a refrigerating cycle having a compressor and an evaporator, a cool air circulating means and a freezing room temperature detecting means, and communicates with the cooler chamber via a freezing room outlet. At least one refrigerating chamber, a cold air circulating means and a refrigerating chamber temperature detecting means, and at least one refrigerating chamber communicating with the cooler chamber through a refrigerating chamber outlet, the freezer outlet and the refrigerating chamber. An outlet switching means for opening and closing the chamber outlet, and a cold air control means for controlling the compressor, the cold air circulation means and the outlet switching means in response to the freezing room temperature detecting means or the refrigerating room temperature detecting means. Be prepared.

Further, the freezing compartment has at least one freezing compartment door and freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means, and the refrigerating compartment has at least one refrigerating compartment door and refrigerating compartment door opening / closing detecting means.

In the refrigerator constructed as described above, the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment can be cooled by operating as described below.

The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged by the operation of the compressor is condensed and liquefied by a condenser, decompressed by a capillary tube, liquefied and liquefied by an evaporator to cool the ambient air, and the cold air is cooled. The cold air circulating means circulates and flows into the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber to transfer heat, thereby cooling the respective chambers, and the refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator is returned to the compressor and sucked again.

The temperatures of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment are respectively detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means or the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means, and are frozen due to heat intrusion, opening / closing of the freezing compartment door, and storage of a heat load such as food. When the temperature of the room rises and the freezing room temperature detecting means detects that it exceeds the upper limit of the predetermined freezing room temperature range, the cooling control means receives this signal and operates the cool air circulating means of the compressor and the freezing room, At the same time, the air outlet switching means is operated so that the air outlet of the freezer compartment is opened to cool the freezer compartment. Further, when the freezing room temperature detecting means detects that the temperature of the freezing room exceeds the lower limit of the predetermined freezing room temperature range, the cooling control means receiving this signal causes the cooling air circulating means of the compressor and the freezing room to operate. At the same time, the air outlet switching means is operated so that the air outlet of the freezer compartment is closed, and the cooling of the freezer compartment is stopped.

Similarly, when the temperature of the refrigerating compartment rises and the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means detects that it exceeds the upper limit of the predetermined refrigerating compartment temperature range, upon receipt of this signal, the cooling control means receives the signals from the compressor and the refrigerating compartment. The cold air circulating means is operated, and at the same time, the outlet switching means is operated so that the refrigerating compartment outlet is opened to cool the refrigerating compartment. When the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means detects that the temperature of the refrigerating compartment exceeds the lower limit of the predetermined refrigerating compartment temperature range, the cooling control means receiving this signal causes the compressor and the cold air circulating means of the refrigerating compartment to operate. At the same time, the outlet switching means is operated so that the outlet of the refrigerating compartment is closed, and the cooling of the refrigerating compartment is stopped.

Next, the temperature in the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment rises,
When the freezing room temperature detecting means and the refrigerating room temperature detecting means detect that the temperature exceeds the upper limit of the predetermined temperature range of each room, the cooling control means receives the signal and operates the compressor, and the freezing room outlet is A step of operating the outlet switching means so as to open and close the refrigerating compartment outlet, and further operating the cold air circulating means of the freezing compartment, and operating the compressor, and the refrigerating compartment outlet opening The air outlet switching means is operated so that the air outlet is closed, and the operation of sequentially switching the step of operating the cold air circulation means of the refrigerating compartment is performed to cool the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Further, when the temperature detecting means of each room detects that the temperature of the refrigerating room and the temperature of the refrigerating room exceeds the lower limit of the predetermined temperature range of each room, the cooling control means receiving this signal causes the compressor and the respective The operation of the cold air circulation means of the chamber is stopped, and at the same time, the outlet switching means is operated so that the freezer compartment outlet and the refrigerator compartment outlet are closed to stop the cooling of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment.

Therefore, the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment can be cooled independently, and when the freezing compartment is cooled, the cooling efficiency is improved because the air is circulated in the freezing compartment only, and the refrigerating compartment is also cooled. In the case of cooling, the air sucked into the evaporator is a relatively high temperature air in the refrigerating chamber, so the refrigerating effect is large, the suction specific volume is large, and cooling with a large refrigerating capacity becomes possible. Since the cooling can be performed according to the heat load of each of the compartment and the refrigerating compartment, the refrigerating compartment can be efficiently and sufficiently cooled even when a large heat load is applied only to the refrigerating compartment.

When the compressor is stopped, the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment are maintained in a predetermined temperature range, the cold air circulating means is also stopped, and the freezing compartment outlet and the refrigerating compartment outlet are closed. However, when the cooling control means operates the outlet switching means so that the refrigerating compartment outlet is opened and the freezing compartment outlet is closed, and at the same time the cold air circulating means of the refrigerating compartment is operated, the air in the refrigerating compartment is cooled by the cooler. By circulating the heat in the chamber and exchanging heat with the evaporator, it is possible to reduce frost generated in the evaporator and reduce ventilation resistance to prevent a reduction in circulating wind speed and a reduction in the heat transfer coefficient on the air side of the evaporator. Further, since the circulating air is cooled by the heat of sublimation or the heat of fusion when reducing the frost that has frosted on the evaporator, it is possible to maintain the temperature of the refrigerating room within a predetermined temperature range without lowering it. .

When the freezer compartment door is opened during the cooling operation, the freezer compartment door open detection means detects the opening of the door and sends a signal to the cooling control means, and the cooling control means which receives the signal opens the door. While in the open state, the freezer outlet is closed,
The outlet switching means is operated so that the refrigerating compartment outlet is opened, the cold air circulating means of the freezing compartment is stopped, and the cold air circulating means of the refrigerating compartment is operated, or the refrigerating compartment door is opened during the cooling operation. Then, the refrigerating compartment door opening detection means detects the opening of the door and sends a signal to the cooling control means, and while the door is opened by the cooling control means that has received the signal, the refrigerating compartment outlet is closed, The air outlet switching means is operated so that the freezer outlet is opened, the cold air circulating means in the refrigerating compartment is stopped, and the cold air circulating means in the freezer compartment is operated, so the door is opened and the temperature inside the room rises. However, since the other rooms are cooled as they are, it is possible to concentrate on cooling the room that was opened after the door was closed, and it is possible to quickly maintain the room within the specified temperature range and open the door. The power loss in the case of doing can be reduced.

Further, since the cooling control means performs the defrosting operation every time a predetermined period elapses, when the defrosting operation is started, the cooling control means stops the compressor,
Moreover, the freezer outlet is closed and the outlet switching means is operated so that the refrigerator outlet is opened, and at the same time, the air in the refrigerator is exchanged with the evaporator by operating the cold air circulation means in the refrigerator. , Defrosting can be performed by sublimating or melting the frost that has frosted on the evaporator. Compared with the case where a defrost heater is used, the heat loss of the evaporator is prevented and the temperature rise of the freezer is prevented. However, the power consumption during cooling can be reduced.

[0037]

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

The refrigerator in the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 showing a sectional view for explaining the construction.

The inside of the refrigerator is formed by a heat-insulating box body 10. The heat-insulating partition wall 1 divides at least one freezer compartment 2 at the bottom and at least one refrigerating compartment 3 at the upper part, and the refrigerator compartment at the back of the freezer compartment 2. A cooler chamber 4 is formed in the lower portion of the cooling chamber 3, and a machine room 5 is formed in the lower portion of the cooler chamber 4 at the back of the freezing chamber 2. The freezer compartment 2 and the cooler compartment 4 are communicated with each other by the freezer compartment outlet 6, and the refrigerator compartment 3 and the cooler compartment 4 are communicated with each other by the refrigerator compartment outlet 7. An evaporator 8 is installed in the cooler chamber 4, a first cold air circulation means 9 composed of an electric fan is installed in the freezing chamber 2, and the evaporator 8 evaporates the refrigerant to cool the air. The cooled air is sucked into the freezer compartment 2 from the freezer compartment outlet 6 by the cold air circulation means 9, and the air is circulated in the freezer compartment 2 to cool the inside of the freezer compartment 2. A temperature detecting means 11 for detecting the temperature of the cooler chamber 4 is provided in the cooler chamber 4 located near the evaporator 8.

In the cooler chamber 4, there are installed blower outlet switching means 12 which is an electric damper that opens and closes the freezer compartment outlet 6, and blower outlet switching means 13 that is an electric damper that opens and closes the refrigerating compartment outlet 7. The chamber 5 includes a compressor 14 and a condenser 1.
5 and the external fan 16 are installed. The outlet switching means 12 and 13 alternately open and close each outlet.

When the compressor 14 is operated, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 14 is condensed and liquefied by the condenser 15, and then decompressed by the decompression means 17 composed of a capillary tube, and then evaporated and vaporized by the evaporator 8 to form air. Cooled air generated in the cooler chamber 4 is made to flow into the freezing chamber 2 by the cold air circulation means 9 to transfer heat, and the refrigerant vaporized by the evaporator 8 is sucked into the compressor 14 to form a refrigeration cycle. ing.

Cold air circulation means 9 and outlet switching means 12,
The operations of 13 and the compressor 14 are controlled by a cooling control means 18, and this cooling control means 18 includes an internal timer 19 for setting and measuring the time of the defrosting operation.

Further, at least one freezer compartment door 20 is attached to the front surface of the freezer compartment 2, food is taken in and out by the opening / closing operation thereof, and when the freezer compartment door 20 is in the closed state, a push switch is used as the door member. The freezing compartment door open / close detection means 21 is pushed to detect the open / close operation. In addition,
The temperature inside the freezer compartment 2 is detected by the freezer compartment temperature detecting means 22 which is a thermistor.

At least one refrigerating compartment door 23 is attached to the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 3, food is taken in and out by opening / closing operation of the refrigerating compartment door 23, and when the refrigerating compartment door 23 is in a closed state, a refrigerating compartment constituted by a push switch by a door member. Door open / close detection means 2
4 is pressed to detect the opening / closing operation. In addition, inside the refrigerating chamber 3, the second cold air circulating means 2 including an electric fan is provided.
5 is attached to suck the cool air in the cooler chamber 4 from the refrigerating chamber outlet 7, circulate air in the refrigerating chamber 3 to cool the refrigerating chamber 3, and detect the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 3 which is a thermistor. It is detected by the means 26.

Next, the operation of the cooling control means 18 will be described. The cooling control means 18 includes a freezer compartment temperature detection means 22,
Refrigerating room temperature detecting means 26, freezing room door open / close detecting means 21,
Upon receiving a signal from the refrigerator compartment door opening / closing detection means 24, the compressor 1
4, outlet switching means 12, 13, cold air circulation means 9, 25
Drive control.

When the compressor 14 is stopped, the outlet switching means 12 closes the freezer compartment outlet 6 for a predetermined time, and the outlet outlet selector 13 opens the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 to circulate the cold air. By driving the means 25, the relatively high temperature air (for example, air at 3 ° C.) in the refrigerating chamber 3 is heat-exchanged with the evaporator 8 to be cooled.

Further, when the freezing compartment door 20 is opened while the freezing compartment 2 is being cooled and a door opening signal from the freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means 21 is detected, the air is blown while the door is open. The outlet switching means 12 closes the freezing compartment outlet 6, the outlet switching means 13 opens the refrigerating compartment outlet 7, the cold air circulating means 9 is stopped, and the cold air circulating means 25 is driven. The refrigerating compartment door 23 is opened while the refrigerating compartment 3 is being cooled, and when a door opening signal from the refrigerating compartment door opening / closing detecting means 24 is detected, the air outlet switching means 13 controls the opening of the door. The refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is closed, the freezer outlet 6 is opened by the outlet switching means 12, the cold air circulating means 25 is stopped, and the cold air circulating means 9 is driven.

Further, the defrosting operation time is set for each predetermined time period measured by the internal timer 19, the compressor 14 is stopped during the defrosting operation time, and the freezer compartment outlet 6 is closed by the outlet switching means 12. Then, the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is opened by the outlet switching means 13 and the cold air circulating means 25 is driven, so that the relatively high temperature air (for example, air at 3 ° C.) in the refrigerating compartment 3 and the evaporator 8 are heated. Replace.

The operation of the refrigerator having the above-described structure will be described. The cooling operation of the refrigeration cycle is performed by the cooling control means 1
When the compressor 14 is operated according to the instruction of No. 8, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 14, and is then forcibly cooled by the external fan 16 in the condenser 15 to be condensed and liquefied.
The pressure is reduced by the pressure reducing means 17. The depressurized refrigerant is the evaporator 8
In this way, the air around the evaporator 8 in the cooler chamber 4 is cooled by being evaporated and vaporized to remove the heat of vaporization from the surrounding air. The cool air generated in the cooler chamber 4 is cooled by the cool air circulating means 9 and 2.
5 and the outlet switching means 12 and 13 operate to alternately circulate the heat in the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 for heat transfer, and cool and maintain the interior of the compartment at a predetermined temperature. On the other hand, the refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator 8 is sucked into the compressor 14 again to continue the refrigeration cycle.

During normal operation, the temperature of the freezing compartment 2 is detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means 22 and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 is detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means 26. Since the temperature of the room rises due to the storage of the heat load due to the opening / closing operation of 23, it is necessary to appropriately perform the cooling operation by the refrigeration cycle to maintain the room at the predetermined temperature. There are three cooling operations for that purpose: cooling only the freezing compartment 2, cooling only the refrigerating compartment 3, or cooling both the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3. The cooling operation will be described.

A case where only the freezer compartment 2 is cooled will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing a time chart of the operation. In this case, the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 3 is maintained within a predetermined range (see FIG. 2B), and the cooling operation is stopped, so the cold air circulation means 25 is stopped (see FIG. 2E). The refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is closed (see FIG. 2 (g)).

The temperature of the freezer compartment 2 is detected by the freezer compartment temperature detecting means 22.
When the temperature exceeds the upper limit Tfh of the predetermined freezing room temperature (for example, -18 ° C) and the temperature range (for example, ± 1 ° C) (see Fig. 2A) (time t1, At t3), the cooling control means 18 operates the compressor 14 and the cool air circulation means 9 based on this detection signal (see FIG. 2).
(C), FIG. 2 (d)), the outlet switching means 12 is operated so as to open the freezer outlet 6 (see FIG. 2f) to cool the freezer 2.

The lower limit Tf of a predetermined freezing room temperature (for example, -18 ° C) and a temperature range (for example, ± 1 ° C) set in advance.
When it detects that it exceeds 1 (see FIG. 2A) (time t2), the cooling control means 18 stops the compressor 14 and the cold air circulation means 9 by this detection signal (FIG. 2C, FIG.
(See (d)), the outlet switching means 12 operates so as to close the freezer compartment outlet 6 (see FIG. 2 (f)), and stops the cooling of the freezer compartment 2.

The temperature of the freezer compartment 2 can be maintained by the above operation. Next, a case where only the refrigerating compartment 3 is cooled will be described with reference to FIG. 3 showing a time chart of the driving operation. In this case, the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 is maintained within a predetermined range (see FIG. 2 (a)), and the cooling operation is stopped, so the cold air circulation means 9 is stopped (see FIG. 2 (d)). The freezer outlet 6 is closed (see FIG. 2 (f)).

The temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 is detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means 26.
The upper limit Tr of the predetermined freezer temperature (eg 3 ° C) and temperature range (eg ± 1 ° C) detected by
When it is detected that h is exceeded (see FIG. 2B) (time t1, t3), the cooling control means 18 is generated by this detection signal.
Operates the compressor 14 and the cold air circulation means 25 (see FIG.
(C) and FIG. 2 (e)), the outlet switching means 13 operates to open the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 (see FIG. 2 (g)) to cool the refrigerating compartment 3.

When it is detected that the temperature exceeds the lower limit Trl of the predetermined freezing room temperature (for example, 3 ° C.) and the temperature range (for example ± 1 ° C.) set in advance (see FIG. 2B) (time t)
2), the cooling control means 18 stops the compressor 14 and the cold air circulation means 25 by this detection signal (FIG. 2C, FIG.
(See (e)), the outlet switching means 13 operates so as to close the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 (see FIG. 2 (g)) to stop the cooling of the refrigerating compartment 3.

The temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 can be maintained by the above operation. FIG. 4 shows a time chart of the operation operation in the case of cooling the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 exceeds the upper limit Tfh of the temperature range at time t1 (see FIG. 4 (a)), the compressor 14 and the cold air circulation means 9 are operated (FIG. 4 (c), FIG. 4).
(See (d)), the outlet switching means 12 is also operated to open the freezer compartment outlet 6 (see FIG. 4 (f)) to cool the freezer compartment 2.

When the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 exceeds the upper limit Trh of the temperature range at times t2 and t4 during cooling of the freezing compartment 2 (see FIG. 4 (b)), the cooling control means 18 causes the refrigerating compartment 2 to operate in response to this detection signal. It is determined that both the cold air circulation means 9 and the cold air circulation means 25 need cooling operation, and the cold air circulation means 9 and the cold air circulation means 25 are alternately operated (see FIGS. 4 (d) and 4 (e)), and at the same time, the air outlet The switching means 12 and the outlet switching means 13 are alternately operated to alternately open and close the freezer compartment outlet 6 and the refrigerator compartment outlet 7 (see FIGS. 4 (f) and 4 (g)).

That is, the freezing compartment outlet 6 is opened and the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is closed, and after a lapse of time tf,
Operation is performed so that the freezing compartment outlet 6 is closed and the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is opened, and after the time tr has elapsed, the freezing compartment outlet 6 is opened again and the refrigeration compartment outlet 7 is closed. Then, when the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 exceeds the lower limit Trl of the temperature range (time t3, t5), the cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment 3 ends and returns to the cooling operation of only the freezing compartment 2. The same operation is performed when the cooling chamber 2 is cooled during the cooling operation of the refrigerating chamber 3.

By performing such a cooling operation, the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 are independently cooled, and the temperature of the freezing compartment 2 rises by using the cold air of the freezing compartment 2 to cool the refrigerating compartment 3. Since each room is cooled independently, the freezing room 2 is cooled by sucking in the air in the freezing room 2, and when the air in the freezing room 2 and the refrigerating room 3 are mixed and sucked in. The thermal efficiency is better than that. In the case of cooling the refrigerator compartment 3,
When the mixed air is sucked in, the temperature of the intake air is relatively high at 3 ° C., so that the cooling effect is large and the suction specific volume is large, so that the cooling capacity is also large.

Further, it becomes possible to cool the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 according to their respective heat loads, and the refrigerating compartment 3 can be sufficiently cooled even when a large heat load is applied only to the refrigerating compartment 3. It is also possible to rapidly cool the entire refrigerating room 3 or a part thereof.

In the above description, the freezer compartment outlet 6 is opened first, and the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is opened later. However, conversely, the refrigerator compartment outlet 7 may be opened first. You may

Next, the operation when the cooling operation is stopped will be described with reference to FIG. 5 showing a time chart of the operation operation.

The freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 are maintained within a predetermined temperature range (see FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b)), and the compressor 1
4 and the cold air circulation means 9 and 25 are stopped (Fig. 5 (c),
5 (d) and 5 (e)), the freezer compartment outlet 6 and the refrigerator compartment outlet 7 are closed by the outlet switching means 12 and 13 (see FIGS. 5 (f) and 5 (g)). Time t1
After the time tm has passed, the cooling control means 18 opens the refrigerating compartment outlet 7, closes the freezer compartment outlet 6, and operates the cool air circulating means 25 (time t2).
When the air in the refrigerating compartment 3 is circulated in the cooler compartment 4 to exchange heat with the evaporator 8, the frost generated in the evaporator 8 by normal operation is sublimated or melted by the circulating air in the refrigerating compartment 3. Decrease and the defrosting effect is obtained. Further, since the circulating air is cooled to a slight extent by the heat of sublimation of frost or the heat of melting, the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 3 can be maintained. At the same time, a decrease in the frost that has frosted on the evaporator 8 prevents the flow velocity of the circulating air from decreasing, and also prevents the decrease in the heat transfer coefficient on the air side of the evaporator 8.

After the elapse of the predetermined time td, the cooling control means 18 operates the outlet switching means 13 so that the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is closed (see FIG. 5 (g)), and the cool air circulation means 25. Is stopped (see FIG. 5 (e)) (time t
3). After that, when the temperature of each room rises, the normal cooling operation is performed again (time t4), but if a signal for detecting that the temperature of each room exceeds the upper limit of the temperature range is input, Even within td, the cooling operation described above is started.

With the above-described operation, the evaporator 8 can be operated in a good condition with little frost formation during normal operation, so efficient cooling can be achieved and power consumption can be reduced. Since the amount is small, the evaporator 8 can be downsized and the volumetric efficiency is improved.

When the time tm is zero, the cooling operation can be continued and the operation at the time t2 can be continued. Therefore, the number of losses at the time of starting the cold air circulation means 25 can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced. It can be reduced.

Next, the case where the freezer compartment door 20 and the refrigerator compartment door 23 are opened and closed will be described with reference to FIG. 6 showing a time chart of the operation.

When the freezing compartment door 20 is opened at the time t2 when the cooling operation of the freezing compartment 2 is started from the time t1 (see FIG. 6 (c)), the freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means 21.
Detects the opening of the door and sends a signal to the cooling control means 18, and the cooling control means 18 that has received the signal refrigerates unless the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 exceeds the lower limit of the temperature range (see FIG. 6 (b)). The outlet switching means 12 and 13 are operated so that the chamber outlet 6 is closed and the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is opened (Fig. 6 (h), Fig. 6).
(See (i)), at the same time, the cold air circulation means 9 is stopped (see FIG. 6).
(Refer to (f)), the cold air circulation means 25 drives (FIG. 6).
(See (g)).

When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 exceeds the lower limit of the temperature range, the cold air circulation means 25 is stopped and the freezer compartment door 2 is opened.
When 0 is closed (time t3), the freezing compartment door opening / closing detection means 21 detects the door closing and sends a signal to the cooling control means 18, and the cooling control means 18 continues the operation before opening the door.

When the cooling operation of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 is started (time t4), and the refrigerator compartment door 23 is opened at time t5 (see FIG. 6 (d)), the refrigerator compartment door open / closed detection The means 24 detects the door opening and sends a signal to the cooling control means 1
8, the cooling control means 18 receiving the signal sends the signal to the freezer compartment 2.
6 does not exceed the lower limit of the temperature range (see FIG. 6A), the outlet switching means 12, 13 is operated so that the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is closed and the freezer compartment outlet 6 is opened ( Figure 6
(H) and FIG. 6 (i)), at the same time, the cold air circulation means 9 is driven (see FIG. 6 (f)), and the cold air circulation means 25 is stopped (see FIG. 6 (g)).

When the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 exceeds the lower limit of the temperature range, the cold air circulation means 9 is stopped and the refrigerator compartment door 23 is opened.
When the refrigerator is closed (time t6), the refrigerator compartment door open / close detection means 2
4 detects the door closing and sends a signal to the cooling control means 18,
The cooling control means 18 continues the operation before the door is opened, and the refrigerating room 3
The cooling operation of is finished (time t7).

When the freezer compartment door 20 or the refrigerating compartment door 23 is opened and closed, by performing the operation described above, even if one of the doors is opened and the temperature in that compartment rises, the other compartment Since the cooling operation is performed, it is only necessary to perform the operation of cooling only the opened chamber after the door is closed, so that the predetermined temperature range can be quickly reached and maintained.

Next, the operation for defrosting will be described. When the defrosting operation time is set every predetermined time by the cooling control means 18 and the defrosting operation is started, the cooling control means 1
8, the compressor 14 is stopped, the freezing compartment outlet 6 is closed, and the outlet switching means 12 and 13 are operated so that the refrigerating compartment outlet 7 is opened, and at the same time, the cold air circulation means 25 is operated.
Is operated to circulate the air in the refrigerating chamber 3 to exchange heat with the evaporator 8. By this heat exchange, the frost generated in the evaporator 8 in the normal operation is sublimated or melted to be reduced, and the circulating air itself is cooled by the heat of sublimation or the heat of fusion, so that the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 3 is kept at a predetermined level. Can be kept in range. Then, after the lapse of a predetermined time, it is determined that the defrosting operation has ended, and the cooling control means 18 operates to restore the normal operation.

By operating as described above,
A heater for defrosting is not required, volumetric efficiency is improved by reducing the heater volume, and the evaporator 8 does not have a heat loss due to the defrosting heater. It is possible to reduce power consumption when driving.

In this embodiment, the case where the freezer compartment 2 is located at the lower side and the refrigerating compartment 3 is located at the upper side has been described, but the positional relationship is not limited, and the cooler compartment 4 is frozen. Although the case where it is provided in the inner part of the chamber 2 has been described, the effect is not affected even if it is provided in the inner part of the refrigerating chamber 3 or in the heat insulating partition wall 1, and the outside fan 16 is used to cool the condenser 15. Although the case where the condenser 15 is forcibly cooled has been described, a part of the condenser 15 is embedded in the heat insulation box body 10 or the condenser 15 is installed outside the machine room 5 so that the outside fan 16 Natural cooling may be performed without using the above, and further, the freezer compartment outlet 6 and the refrigerator compartment outlet 7
In the above description, the case where the air outlet switching means 12 and the air outlet switching means 13 are provided has been described, but the same effect can be obtained even if the air outlet switching means 12 and the air outlet switching means 13 are provided at the suction port of the circulating air.

[0078]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

The cooling capacity of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment is improved,
Moreover, it can be cooled with high efficiency, and the heat exchange performance with the evaporator can be maintained high. Furthermore, power loss is reduced, power consumption is reduced, and the volumetric efficiency inside the refrigerator is improved. Can be made.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a time chart showing the cooling operation operation when cooling only the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing a cooling operation operation when cooling only a refrigerating room of the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing a cooling operation operation in the case of simultaneously cooling the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing a driving operation when the refrigerator has stopped cooling operation.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the operation of the refrigerator when the door is opened and closed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Freezer room 3 Refrigerator room 4 Cooler room 6 Freezer room outlet 7 Refrigerator room outlet 8 Evaporator 9,25 Cold air circulation means 12, 13 Outlet switching means 14 Compressor 18 Cooling control means 20 Freezer compartment door 21 Freezer room Door opening / closing detecting means 22 Freezing room temperature detecting means 23 Refrigerating room door 24 Refrigerating room door opening / closing detecting means 26 Refrigerating room temperature detecting means

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshinori Noda 4-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichi Kanaoka 4-chome Takaidamoto-dori, East Osaka No. 2-5 Matsushita Cold Machinery Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Cold air generated in a cooler chamber by a refrigerating cycle having a compressor and an evaporator is connected to the cooler chamber via a freezing chamber outlet by having a cool air circulating means and a freezing room temperature detecting means. Having a flow path circulating in the freezer compartment or a cold air circulation means and a refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means, and flowing into at least one of the flow paths circulating in the refrigerating compartment communicating with the cooler compartment and the refrigerating compartment outlet, A refrigerator which controls the opening / closing operation of the compressor and the cold air circulation means and the freezing room outlet or the refrigerating room outlet by the cooling control means responsive to the freezing room temperature detecting means or the refrigerating room temperature detecting means. 2. When the compressor is stopped, the cooling control means closes the freezer compartment outlet for a predetermined time and the refrigerating compartment outlet is opened for a predetermined time, and the refrigerating compartment air is evaporated from the refrigerating compartment air by the cooling air circulating means. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein heat is exchanged with the container. 3. A freezing compartment door for opening and closing the freezing compartment, and a freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the freezing compartment door,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling control means closes the freezing compartment outlet and opens the refrigerating compartment outlet during the cooling operation in which cold air flows into the freezing compartment and the freezing compartment door is open. 4. A refrigerating compartment door for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment, and a refrigerating compartment door opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the refrigerating compartment door,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling control means closes the refrigerating compartment outlet and opens the freezing compartment outlet during the cooling operation in which cold air flows into the refrigerating compartment and during the opening of the refrigerating compartment door. 5. The defrosting operation is performed every predetermined period, the compressor is stopped during the defrosting operation, the freezing compartment outlet is closed for a predetermined time by the cooling control means, and the refrigeration compartment outlet is located for a predetermined time. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is opened and heat is exchanged between the air in the refrigerating compartment and the evaporator by means of the cold air circulating means in the refrigerating compartment. 6. A cooler chamber for generating cold air by a refrigerating cycle having a compressor and an evaporator, a cool air circulating means and a freezing room temperature detecting means, and communicating with the cooler chamber via a freezing room outlet. At least one refrigerating chamber, a cold air circulating means and a refrigerating chamber temperature detecting means, and at least one refrigerating chamber communicating with the cooler chamber through a refrigerating chamber outlet, the freezer outlet and the refrigerating chamber. An outlet switching means for opening and closing the chamber outlet, and a cold air control means for controlling the compressor, the cold air circulation means and the outlet switching means in response to the freezing room temperature detecting means or the refrigerating room temperature detecting means. A refrigerator to prepare. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the freezing compartment has at least one freezing compartment door and freezing compartment door opening / closing detecting means, and the refrigerating compartment has at least one refrigerating compartment door and refrigerating compartment door opening / closing detecting means.