JPS61280369A - Quick freezing refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a quick-freezing refrigerator, and in particular, to
(Relates to quick-freezing refrigerators suitable for performing proper quick-freezing.)

[Background of the invention]

Refrigerators that have a function of rapidly freezing food by continuously operating a compressor have conventionally frozen food by continuously operating for a certain period of time. The time required to freeze food naturally depends on the size and type of food, so for example, decide on the continuous operation time based on the maximum time required (and avoid unnecessary cooling operations even after freezing). was to be done.

First, the prior art will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of a conventional quick-freezing refrigerator.
Black (The identified part indicates the ON state of the device.

As is well known, a quick-freezing refrigerator uses a compressor,
It cools the air inside the warehouse using a refrigeration cycle consisting of a condenser, pressure reducer, evaporator, and refrigerant piping that connects these devices.It is equipped with a quick freezing room that allows the cooled air to flow continuously for a certain period of time. This quick freezing chamber is configured to place food to be frozen and freeze it.

- In order to perform rapid freezing operation, as shown in Figure 5,
A compressor for the refrigeration cycle, a thermostat that controls the start and stop of the compressor based on a detection signal of the temperature inside the refrigerator, and a quick-freezer that operates the compressor continuously for a certain period of time when food is placed in the quick-freezing chamber. The operating state of the switch is as described below.

During normal operation, as in section A shown in FIG. 5, the compressor is also operated in synchronization with the ON signal of the thermostat, and the temperature inside the refrigerator is kept constant.

When rapidly freezing food, the compressor is operated continuously by pressing the quick freezing switch as in section B, and the food is frozen. At this time, the continuous operation time for quick freezing is a fixed time shown in section B, so if the food is small and freezes quickly, the quick freezing operation may continue even after it has been frozen, or the food may not freeze quickly. When dealing with large foods, which take a long time, there were problems such as the quick freezing operation ending before freezing was completed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-38818 is cited as related to this type of quick-freezing refrigerator.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and is capable of starting and stopping quick freezing operation by detecting the frozen state of the food, regardless of the size, type, etc. of the food to be quick frozen. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick-freezing refrigerator that can properly perform the following operations, operate efficiently, and store food in good condition.

[Summary of the invention]

The configuration of the quick-freezing refrigerator according to the present invention includes a quick-freezing chamber through which air cooled by a refrigeration cycle is circulated,
Temperature detection means are provided on the air inlet side and the air outlet side of the quick freezing chamber, and these temperature detection means detect the temperature in response to changes in the temperature difference between the air flowing into and out of the quick freezing chamber. The control circuit is configured to start the compressor of the refrigeration cycle to perform rapid freezing by continuous operation when the difference becomes larger than a set value, and to stop the continuous operation of the compressor when the temperature difference is almost eliminated. This is what I did.

It should be noted that the present invention recognizes the freezing of food based on the temperature difference between the temperature of the air flowing into a specially provided quick freezing chamber and the temperature of the air flowing out.

When food freezes between 11°C and 15°C, a large amount of heat is absorbed by the food as latent heat, and the air that passes around the food does not get colder, so the temperature difference becomes larger. When food becomes below 15°C, the water in the food is frozen and the temperature becomes lower, and the temperature difference becomes smaller.As a result, it is possible to detect the freezing of food. .

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

First, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the freezer compartment of a quick-freezing refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the quick-freezing refrigerator, and FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram thereof. be.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a freezing compartment, 2 is a specially provided quick freezing compartment, 3 is a blower, 4 is an evaporator, 5 is a thermostat that detects the temperature inside the freezing compartment 1, and 6 is a quick freezing compartment 2 An artificial air temperature sensor related to the temperature detection means provided on the air inlet side of the rapid freezing chamber 2; 7 is an outlet air temperature sensor related to the temperature detection means provided on the air outlet side of the quick freezing chamber 2; 8 is an outlet air temperature sensor related to the temperature detecting means provided on the air outlet side of the quick freezing chamber 2; It is food that has been put into it. Among the devices constituting the refrigeration cycle, a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducer, and refrigerant piping are not shown in FIG. The air that has been heat exchanged and cooled in the evaporator 4 is sent to the freezer compartment 1 by the blower 3 as shown by the arrow.
and circulates within the quick freezing chamber 2.

The operation of the quick-freezing refrigerator having such a configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. In the figure, the black portion indicates the ON state of the device.

During normal operation, the compressor is also operated in synchronization with the ON signal of the thermostat 5, as shown in the section shown in Fig. 2, and the temperature inside the freezer compartment 1 or the refrigerator compartment (not shown) is kept constant. ing.

When the food 8 is put into the quick freezing compartment 2, the temperature difference between the inflow and outflow air to the quick freezing compartment 2, which is detected by the artificial air temperature sensor 6 and the outlet air temperature sensor 7, respectively, changes and becomes a large temperature difference. It can be sensed that food 8 has entered the freezer compartment 2, and the compressor is operated continuously to rapidly freeze the food as shown in FIG.

When the food 8 finishes freezing and its temperature drops, the heat entering the food also decreases, so the temperature difference between the inflow air temperature detected by the artificial air temperature sensor 6 and the outflow air temperature detected by the outlet air temperature sensor 7 increases. becomes smaller and it is possible to recognize that the food 8 is frozen. Therefore, the continuous operation of the compressor is stopped upon sensing the end of freezing. Section C shown in Figure 2,
This shows the continuous operation state.

The control circuit of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, 9 is a circuit, 10 is a relay, and 11 is a compressor, and other symbols are the same as those of each device in FIG.

According to the temperature difference between the air temperatures detected by the inlet air temperature sensor 6 and the outlet air temperature sensor 7, that is, the signal difference, more specifically, when the temperature difference becomes larger than a preset temperature, the relay is activated by the action of the circuit 9. 10 is turned ON, and the compressor 11 and the blower 3 are continuously operated to perform rapid freezing even when the thermostat 5 is OFF.

When the temperature difference between the air temperatures detected by the inlet air temperature sensor 6 and the outlet air temperature sensor 7, that is, the signal difference, disappears, the relay 10 is turned off by the action of the circuit 9, and the compressor ALL and the blower 4 stop continuous operation. and finish quick freezing.

According to this embodiment, due to the temperature difference between the air flowing into the quick freezing chamber 2 and the air flowing out, the compressor 11 is operated during quick freezing only for the freezing time necessary for the food.
As a result, wasteful operation after freezing is eliminated, which reduces the amount of power consumed by operating the compressor 11, and also eliminates the need to stop compressor operation when the food is not yet frozen, allowing for better frozen storage of the food. It can be done in the state.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a control circuit diagram of a quick-freezing refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, parts with the same symbols as in FIG. Omitted.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 differs from the embodiment of FIG. 3 in that the thermostat 5 is not provided. That is, as a function of the control circuit 12, the circuit configuration is such that the inlet air temperature sensor 6 can be used in place of the thermostat 5, so that the thermostat 5 is not required.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the same effects as those of the previous embodiment can be expected, and since the artificial air temperature sensor 6 also has the function of the thermostat 5, it has the effect of reducing manufacturing costs. There is.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, regardless of the size or type of food to be quickly frozen, the frozen state of the food is detected and the quick freezing operation is appropriately started and stopped, thereby achieving efficient operation. Therefore, it is possible to provide a quick-freezing refrigerator that can store foods in good conditions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the freezer compartment of a quick-freezing refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the quick-freezing refrigerator, FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram thereof, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a control circuit diagram of a quick-freezing refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation of a conventional quick-freezing refrigerator. 2... Rapid freezing chamber, 3... Blower, 4... Evaporator, 5... Thermostat, 6... Artificial air temperature sensor, 7... Outlet air temperature sensor, 8... Food ,
9...Circuit, 10...Relay, 11...Compressor,
12...Control circuit. '# 1 day ¥: 2 mouths 1! 3 times ≦ 4th a

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A quick freezing chamber that is equipped with a quick freezing chamber through which air cooled by the refrigeration cycle flows, temperature sensing means are provided on the air inlet side and air outlet side of this quick freezing chamber, and temperature detection means are provided on the air inlet side and the air outlet side of the quick freezing chamber, respectively, and the quick freezing chamber detects the temperature detected by each of the temperature detecting means. In response to changes in the temperature difference between the inflow and outflow air, when the temperature difference becomes larger than the set value, the compressor of the refrigeration cycle is started and rapid freezing is performed by continuous operation, until the temperature difference is approximately A quick-freezing refrigerator characterized in that a control circuit is configured to stop continuous operation of the compressor when the compressor runs out.