JPH1163775A - Multi-refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool a plurality of refrigerators uniformly with no refrigeration lag and to ensure efficient operation of a compressor suitable for preservation of food. SOLUTION: The multi-refrigerator comprises one compressor 5, more than one evaporators 1, 3, and a plurality of refrigerators 13, 17 for cooling at least one part arranged with the evaporators 1, 3. Operation of the compressor 5 is controlled based on the temperature information from a refrigerator having a lowest target temperature in the refrigerator among the plurality of refrigerators 13, 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi refrigerator in which a plurality of refrigerators are cooled by one compressor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a refrigerator is provided with a plurality of compartments such as a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment, a vegetable compartment, etc., having different set temperatures in a refrigerator main body. The operation of the compressor is controlled on the basis of the operation.

[0003]

Since the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator is secondarily cooled by cold air from the freezer compartment, it is difficult to maintain and control the target set temperature in the refrigerator at optimal conditions at all times. That there is. Further, for example, if the inside of the refrigerator compartment is enlarged, the size of the other compartments is restricted, and if a plurality of large compartments are provided, the size of the refrigerator body becomes large.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a multi-refrigerator in which a cooling box is provided independently so that a wide inside of the box can be secured and an efficient refrigeration cycle operation can be performed by one compressor. It is intended to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises one compressor constituting a refrigeration cycle and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporators are arranged. A plurality of cooling chambers for cooling at least one or more chambers, and controls operation of the compressor based on temperature information from a cooling chamber having a lowest target internal temperature.

[0006] Thus, the operation of the compressor is controlled based on the temperature information from the refrigerator having the lowest target refrigerator temperature, and each refrigerator is controlled by the evaporator to be a target refrigerator suitable for food preservation. The temperature will be maintained.

Moreover, only one compressor is required. In addition, each refrigerator can be used as a dedicated refrigerator having a large refrigerator or a combination of a dedicated freezing room and a refrigerator room.

In this case, the operation of the compressor may be controlled based on temperature information from a cooling chamber having the largest internal volume.

Alternatively, the operation of the compressor may be controlled based on temperature information from a cooling compartment having the largest internal volume among the cooling compartments having the same target temperature.

[0010] Alternatively, the operation control of the compressor may be performed based on temperature information from a cooling cabinet in which the target temperature and the current inside temperature are the most distant.

Alternatively, priorities are assigned based on the temperature difference between the target temperature and the present internal temperature and the internal volumes of different sizes, and the compressor of the compressor is determined based on information from the cooling unit having the highest priority. Operation control may be performed.

Alternatively, the operation of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information from a cooling compartment having the lowest target internal temperature, and the blowing capacity of the evaporator blower of the cooling compartment having a low priority is reduced. Is also good.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, A indicates a first indoor unit, B indicates a second indoor unit, and C indicates an outdoor unit.
Is provided with a first evaporator 1, and the second indoor unit B is provided with a second evaporator 3.

The outdoor unit C includes a compressor 5 and a blower 7 for a condenser.
And an outdoor control unit 11.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outdoor control unit 11 stores a relationship between the target internal temperature of the first and second indoor units A and B to determine the target refrigerant evaporation temperature and the compressor operating frequency. Is input in advance as the first indoor unit A and the second indoor unit A.
Of the compressor 5 and the condenser blower 7 so that the first and second evaporators 1 and 3 reach the set refrigerant evaporation temperature. The operation of the drive unit 7a is variably controlled.

FIG. 2 shows a representative example of the request for the operation capacity of the compressor 5 by the first indoor unit A and the second indoor unit B.

That is, the inside temperature and the target temperature are set to -5 ° C. to +5.
When the temperature up to ° C is changed from the zone A to the zone F, when the zone A is OFF, in the zone B, the capacity + the number of rotations is 2 steps.
Drive down. Hereinafter, in the D zone where the difference between the internal temperature and the target temperature is zero, the operation is to maintain the current state, and
In the zone, it is shown that the operation is performed with the capacity + the number of revolutions increased by two steps.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first indoor unit A is a first indoor unit A.
Has the first evaporator 1 described above in
The evaporator 1 is provided with an evaporator blower 15.
The second indoor unit B has the second evaporator 3 in the second cooler 17, and an evaporator blower 19 is arranged in the first evaporator 3.

The first and second cooling chambers 13, 17 are
Although it has a shape having one large interior, it may have a plurality of interiors.

The first and second evaporators 1 and 3 are arranged in parallel with the condenser 9, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is supplied to the condenser 9 and the first and second evaporators 1 and 3. And a refrigeration cycle that returns to the compressor 5 again. First evaporator 1
, An electronic expansion valve 21 and a solenoid valve 23 are arranged in series.

The operation of the electronic expansion valve 21 and the solenoid valve 23 is controlled by a signal from the first indoor control unit 25. The electronic expansion valve 21 controls the flow rate of the refrigerant to the first evaporator 1. When the second cooler 17 reaches the target temperature and the flow of the refrigerant is interrupted, the flow rate of the refrigerant temporarily becomes excessive, so that the degree of superheat in the first evaporator 1 is increased.
That is, from the point where the superheat cannot be obtained, the flow rate is reduced to function to lower the evaporation temperature.

The solenoid valve 23 controls the flow of the refrigerant to the first evaporator 1 or shuts off or allows the refrigerant to flow. For example, when the first cooling chamber 13 reaches a target temperature, the first evaporator 1 It functions to shut off the flow of the refrigerant to 1.

The first indoor control unit 25 is provided with an internal temperature sensor 2
7 and the electronic expansion valve 21 and the electromagnetic valve 23 based on temperature information from the evaporator inlet temperature sensor 29 and the evaporator output temperature sensor 31 which detect the evaporation temperature of the first evaporator 1 which changes depending on the operating conditions. Drive unit 15 of evaporator blower 15
a while controlling each of the sensors 27, 29, 31
Is sent to the outdoor control unit 11 as temperature information.

On the other hand, the second evaporator 3 has an electronic expansion valve 3
3 and the solenoid valve 35 are arranged in series. Electronic expansion valve 3
The operation of the solenoid valve 3 and the solenoid valve 35 is controlled by a signal from the second indoor control unit 37, and the electronic expansion valve 33 controls the flow rate of the refrigerant to the second evaporator 3, and includes, for example, a first cooling chamber. When the temperature of the refrigerant reaches the target temperature 13 and the flow of the refrigerant is interrupted, the flow rate of the refrigerant temporarily becomes excessive, so that the degree of superheat in the second evaporator 3, that is, where the superheat cannot be obtained. Therefore, it functions to reduce the evaporation temperature by reducing the flow rate.

The solenoid valve 35 controls the flow of the refrigerant to the second evaporator 3 by shutting off or flowing the refrigerant.
When the second cooler 17 reaches the target temperature, it functions to block the flow of the refrigerant to the second evaporator 3.

The second indoor control unit 37 is provided with a
9, the electronic expansion valve 33 and the electromagnetic valve 35 based on temperature information from the evaporator inlet temperature sensor 41 and the evaporator output temperature sensor 43 which detect the evaporation temperature of the second evaporator 3 which changes depending on the operating conditions. Drive unit 19 of evaporator blower 19
a while controlling each of the sensors 39, 41, 43
Is sent to the outdoor controller 11 as temperature information.

In the multi-refrigerator configured as described above, first, based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the first temperature is set to 3 ° C. in the refrigerator A and to −20 ° C. in the refrigerator B.
The operation of the indoor unit A will be described.

When the operation of the first indoor unit A is started (step S1), an operation request shown in FIG. 2 is output based on the inside temperature at this time; zones A to F (steps S2 and S).
3).

After the operation for a certain period of time, the rise in the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the first evaporator 1 is monitored based on the relationship with the second indoor unit B (step S4). If the temperature rises, the operation returns to step S2. Is repeated. If it does not rise, the cooling capacity is reduced by reducing the air volume of the evaporator blower 15 to reduce the air volume (step S5). The operation is returned to step S2 if it is not less than or equal to or less than the air flow setting lower limit, and if so, the operation request to the compressor 5 is stopped in the following cases (steps S6 and S7). As a result, a target temperature in the cooling chamber can be obtained.

The same operation is performed on the second indoor unit B side to obtain a target temperature in the cooling box.

Next, the operation of the outdoor unit C will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the room temperature is, for example, 20 ° C., the first indoor unit A
In the refrigerating operation at the target set temperature of −20 ° C., the second indoor unit B starts the operation of the outdoor unit C in the refrigeration operation at the target set temperature of 3 ° C. (Step S-1). Outdoor unit C in early operation
Is compressed based on the temperature information from the first indoor unit A having the lower target set temperature to the predetermined refrigerant evaporation temperature based on the refrigerant evaporation information predetermined by the data shown in FIGS. The operation is performed by increasing the operation frequency of the machine 5 (step S-2.3).

When the second indoor unit B reaches the target set temperature after a certain period of time, the solenoid valve 35 of the second indoor unit B
Is closed, and the flow of the refrigerant to the second evaporator 3 is shut off. At the same time, the operation request to the outdoor unit C is stopped. At this time, the operation of the outdoor unit C is continued based on the operation request from the first indoor unit A.

In this case, the flow of the refrigerant to the second evaporator 3 is cut off, so that the amount of refrigerant circulating to the first evaporator 1 on the first indoor unit A side becomes excessive, and the first The degree of superheat of the evaporator 1, that is, superheat, cannot be obtained. This state is monitored by the evaporator outlet temperature sensor 31 and is restricted by the electronic expansion valve 21 in a direction to restrict the flow of the refrigerant. As a result, the evaporating pressure, that is, the evaporating temperature is reduced. However, the operation of the compressor 5 is controlled by, for example, a decrease in the operating frequency so that the evaporating temperature becomes a predetermined evaporating temperature. Thus, the refrigerant evaporation temperature can be properly managed.

Next, when the second indoor unit B starts an operation request again, the outdoor unit C is continuously operated based on the temperature information from the first indoor unit A having the low internal target temperature (see FIG. 4). Step S-4.5). At this time, when the solenoid valve 33 on the second indoor unit B side is opened, the first evaporator 1 temporarily becomes short of the refrigerant circulation amount, and the degree of superheat increases. At the same time, the operation of the electronic expansion valve 21 is controlled to loosen the throttle, so that the evaporation temperature rises. Based on the information of the evaporation temperature, the operation of the compressor 5 is controlled, for example, by increasing the operation frequency so that the evaporation temperature becomes a predetermined evaporation temperature, so that the refrigerant evaporation temperature is appropriately managed. .

In this case, since the second indoor unit B is operated at a lower evaporation temperature than the originally required refrigerant evaporation temperature, the on / off of the evaporator blower 19 or the amount of air blow is reduced. Do you want to keep the inside of the refrigerator cool?
Alternatively, it is desirable to perform a corresponding operation by reducing the effective use area of the evaporator 3 by increasing the setting of the degree of superheat.

Next, when the refrigerant evaporation temperature reaches the target temperature and the operation request for the first indoor unit A is stopped, the operation of the outdoor unit C is performed based on the operation request for the second indoor unit B. (Step S-6). At this time, the air volume of the evaporator blower 19 is increased from the air volume of the basic design. Alternatively, by issuing an operation request to the outdoor unit C, such as securing a higher evaporation temperature,
An efficient operation of the compressor 5 can be performed by the high evaporation temperature.

As a result, the specific gravity of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 5 can be increased by lowering the discharge pressure, increasing the evaporation temperature, and operating as shown by the solid line in FIG.
Efficiency is improved. Moreover, temperature control suitable for food preservation can be performed.

In this case, the operation control of the compressor 5 may be performed based on temperature information from a cooling chamber having the largest internal volume. Further, the condition at this time may be specified for a cooling box having the same target temperature.

That is, the first and second cooling chambers 13 and 17 are
For example, when operated at the same target set temperature, a cooling compartment having a large compartment needs more refrigeration capacity than a cooling compartment having a small compartment. For this reason, even if the refrigerant evaporation temperature of each of the evaporators 1 and 3 is lowered, a change in the internal temperature of the cooling chamber having a large internal space becomes relatively small.

Therefore, as described above, the operation control is performed based on the temperature information from the cooling chamber having a large chamber,
It is possible to improve the followability of the temperature management, and it is possible to manage the inside of the chambers having different sizes to the target set temperature.

Alternatively, the operation of the compressor 5 may be controlled on the basis of temperature information from a cooling compartment in which the target temperature is farthest from the current compartment temperature.

Alternatively, priorities may be set based on the temperature difference between the target set temperature and the present internal temperature and the internal volumes of different sizes, and the priority may be determined based on information from the highest priority cooling room. You may.

As a result, the cooling chambers 13 and 17 can quickly obtain the set internal temperature without cooling delay.

[0046]

As described above, according to the multi refrigerator of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) When only the refrigerator having a high target temperature is operating, the operation is performed in a state where the evaporation temperature is high, that is, the compressor suction pressure is high and the compressor discharge pressure is suppressed to perform the operation efficiently. Can be.

(2) Large and small refrigerators require a large refrigeration capacity for managing the target temperature even if the difference between the target temperature and the current temperature is the same. Therefore, by performing the refrigeration cycle operation that achieves the evaporator temperature required by the one requiring the highest refrigeration capacity, all the refrigerators can be uniformly cooled without excess or shortage.

(3) By controlling the cooling cabinets to be large or having a large temperature difference, that is, by controlling the cooling cabinets according to those requiring more cooling capacity, all the cooling cabinets can be sufficiently cooled.

(4) By comparing the temperature difference from the target temperature and the required capacity based on the internal volume of the refrigerator and controlling it according to the more required one, all the refrigerators can be sufficiently cooled.

(5) In the case of controlling the temperature to be relatively high, an excessively low temperature of the evaporator may cause a fluctuation in the internal temperature of the evaporator. You can keep the inside too cold.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory circuit diagram of an entire multi refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a request for an operating capacity of a compressor in each temperature zone.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a target internal temperature and a target evaporation temperature.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a compressor operating frequency and a target evaporation temperature.

FIG. 5 is a Mollier diagram according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a first indoor unit operation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an outdoor unit operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,3 Evaporator 5 Compressor 13,17 Cooler

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator having one compressor and at least two or more evaporators constituting a refrigeration cycle, wherein the evaporator is arranged, and a plurality of cooling cabinets for cooling at least one or more compartments are provided. A multi-refrigerator, wherein the operation of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information from a refrigerator having a lowest target interior temperature. 2. A refrigeration cycle comprising one compressor and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporators are arranged, and a plurality of cooling chambers for cooling at least one or more chambers are provided, A multi-refrigerator, wherein operation control of the compressor is performed based on temperature information from a refrigerator having the largest internal volume. 3. A refrigeration cycle comprising one compressor and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporators are arranged, and a plurality of cooling chillers for cooling at least one or more chillers are provided, A multi-refrigerator, wherein operation of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information from a refrigerator having the largest internal volume among refrigerators having the same target temperature. 4. A refrigeration cycle comprising one compressor and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporators are arranged, and a plurality of cooling chillers for cooling at least one or more chillers are provided. A multi-refrigerator, wherein the operation of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information from a refrigerator in which a target temperature and a current temperature in the refrigerator are the most distant. 5. A refrigeration cycle comprising one compressor and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporators are arranged, and a plurality of cooling chillers for cooling at least one or more chillers are provided, The temperature difference between the target temperature and the current inside temperature,
A multi-refrigerator, wherein priorities are assigned based on internal volumes having different sizes, and operation control of the compressor is performed based on information from a refrigerator having the highest priority. 6. A refrigerator having one compressor constituting a refrigeration cycle and at least two or more evaporators, wherein the evaporator and the blower for the evaporator are arranged, and a refrigerator for cooling at least one or more locations. And controlling the operation of the compressor based on temperature information from the cooling chamber having the lowest target internal temperature, and reducing the blowing capacity of the evaporator blower of the cooling chamber having a low priority. A multi-refrigerator characterized by the following.